How One Company Guards Against Greenwashing

PR Log (Press Release) – Jul 09, 2008 – Anco Products Inc. received both the GREENGUARD and the GREENGUARD Children & Schools™ certification for low-emission interior products and building materials. The certifications ensure that the usage of Anco’s Textrafine™ Building Insulation and its Flexible Air Duct products will help build projects to meet green building standards as set by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

With the current demand for environmentally friendly products, many purchasers develop creative advertising that “greenwashes” the true value of the product. Greenwashing is the act of misleading consumers about the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. “This practice seems to be growing just as quickly as the demand for green products,” said Andy McCleery, Anco general manager.

To avoid the greenwashing trend, Anco sought the backing of third-party certification through the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute. The GEI’s strict certification process validated that Anco Products’ Textrafine™ Insulation and Flexible Air Ducts meet the most stringent level of requirements for hundreds of chemicals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde, mercury, and phthalates.

“What is missing in today’s discourse is the understanding that to pursue energy conservation in homes and buildings without taking the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) into consideration puts building occupants at unnecessary health risk,” said Marilyn Black, Ph.D., CEO and Chief Scientist at Air Quality Science, a test laboratory for GEI.

“Conversely, to pursue good IAQ without considering the efficient use of energy may unnecessarily increase energy costs and emissions of greenhouse gases…”
Anco Products’ Textrafine™ and Flexible Air Ducts exceed the standard in both energy conservation and Indoor Air Quality. Anco’s Textrafine™ Building Insulation is made from 85 percent post-industrial recycled content, keeping several million pounds of glass waste products out of landfills annually. Scrap created during the insulation manufacturing process at Anco is also reclaimed and recycled.

“Many of the ‘Green’ initiatives in the market today are things that we have been doing at Anco for years – we have always been committed to good environmental practices,” said Doug Spicher, Anco plant operations manager who also worked on the GREENGUARD Certification.

Anco is dedicated to indoor air quality and will continue to find ways to set the standard for environmental stewardship

Visit the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute
Website at: greenguard.org.
For information about Anco Products Inc. call
Andy McCleery at (800)837-2626